look, if you didn't see it, i don't even know how to begin to explain it. in my defense, the apes wanted me to do that so i did it. the apes told me they wanted me to do it. how? i can't even begin to explain and i did not have to smear anything on myself. that's a plus. because really, it's all about maintaining one's dignity. that's it for us. thanks for watching. "early start" begins now. jerry sandusky pleads his case from behind bars. a stunning audio tape just hours before he is sentenced this morning. debate bound, mitt romney erasing president obama's lead. this is a new poll. a major shift on women voters as well. an an injection of enthusiasm. we go inside the numbers with four weeks left. and biggest jump ever.

one man, literally falling from the edge of outer space, 23 miles straight down on purpose. why? and will he make it? >> that is the question. why? what is the craziest thing you've ever done. >> it's not jumping 23 miles straight down from outer space. that's a high bar. >> i can't wait to talk to him and find out the why. >> it's nuts. good morning, thank you for joining us on "early start," i'm john berman. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. jerry sandusky proclaims his innocence. in four wurhours, the former pe state football coach will be in court to find out his punishment. he is clearly defiant. >> they can take away my life, they can make me out as a monster, they could treat me as

a monster but they can't take away my heart. in my heart, i know i did not do these alleged, disgusting acts. >> he takes no personal responsibility. he lays the blame for his fate on one of his victims as well. and the big question, one of the questions we're asking this morning, did his attorneys know he was about to do this? >> hi, zoraida, good morning to you. his attorneys, at least one of them, did know, but they didn't know the content of what he was going to say. there was a meeting earlier in the day and the judge made it clear to mr. sandusky he was not supposed to be critical of the judicial system when he made his statement in court. what did they do? he decided to release a statement in another way, via a radio station. in in fact, sandusky did take shots at a host of people, including investigators, penn state, even his victims, including one in particular.

>> young man who's dramatic veteran accuser and always sought attention started everything. he was joined by a well orchestrated effort of the media, investigators, the system, penn state, psychologists, civil attorneys and other accusers. they won. >> and sandusky is also expected to read a statement before the judge. what is he expected to say? >> well, i think as one of his attorneys told me, there will be contrition but not admission. so, again, he will not be taking -- he will not say, yes, i did it and i'm sorry for that. he'll probably speak for five to ten minutes and then it will be the victims' turn. >> you have a portion of a statement from one of sandusky's victims. >> that's right. cnn has obtained a statement, an excerpt from one of the statements of victim number five. this is what he plans to say in

part. quote, i hope and pray that when your honor sentences mr. sandusky that you consider the real harm he has done to me and others. and take into account the tears, pain and private anguish i and others have suffered. in fact, his civil attorney says that this victim and others are angry and will speak about that in court. here is thomas klein. >> this closes the book on mr. sandusky courand tell the court how it's affected him so terribly and dramatically. the book that remains open is the book against penn state. >> all right. susan candiotti live for us in pennsylvania. thank you for that. >> got to tell you, that tape to me is stunning. i don't think i ever heard anything like that from a guy who is about to be sentenced. >> exactly.

from a guy about to face a judge. four weeks to go until election day. two new polls show the race for the white house basically tide. in one poll, mitt romney's strong debate performance essentially erased obama's lead. the same poll last month had romney trailing obama by eight points. the latest gallup tracking poll has obama leading romney 50% to 45%, a margin that grew yesterday. but neither of these numbers may be telling the whole story. coming up, we take a look at these results with peter hamby. >> my head is spinning with all the numbers. >> right. >> according to the cdc, the death toll is now at 8. 105 people in nine states are infected. health officials say 75 medical facilities in 23 states received the contaminated steroid injections.

the company that makes the medication has voluntaeearily recalled it. >> fear of chaos overseas as german chancellor angela merkel makes an unpopular visit to greece today. this is new video of protesters in the streets of greece this morning. security is very, very tight there. and protests in some areas are completely banned. her visit comes as greek government officials attempt to pass another $17 billion in cuts in order to qualify for more eu bailout money. thousands complaining about health problems two weeks after the explosion at that chemical factory in south korea. at the time of the blast, five people were killed, 18 were injured. the resulting toxic leak has sent some 3,200 people to hospitals. they're suffering from headaches, nausea, soar throats and severe coughs. 71 medical marijuana dispensaries in los angeles were given to today to shut down.

but many are still operating and may be able to stay open. the city council reversed itself last week. "the new york times" reports there may be as many as 1,000 dispensaries in los angeles, maybe more, which far outnumbers starbucks locations there. >> all right. weatherer wi er witer wit er wex ba ba baumgartner is attempting to break the sound barrier. he's trying to break a skydive record that's stood for more than 50 years. so we are going to have live coverage of this event throughout the morning right here on cnn. >> yes, we are. it seems like the craziest thing i ever heard of. still unbeaten, the houston texans 5-0 after beating the new york jets 23-17 in "monday night football."

arian foster led the way with 152 yards and a touchdown. the texans and atlanta falcons are the only nfl teams still without a loss. >> 5:07. the surprise star of last week's presidential debate lands a role in a brand new political ad. >> big, yellow, a menace to our economy. >> so much for big bird and the race to the white house. that's coming up. ou had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums [ male announcer ] tums smoothies.

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up your game. up the ante. and if you stumble, you get back up. up isn't easy, and we ought to know. we're in the business of up. everyday delta flies a quarter of million people while investing billions improving everything from booking to baggage claim. we're raising the bar on flying and tomorrow we will up it yet again. welcome back to "early start." 11 minutes past the hour. i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman. election day just four weeks away, four weeks. this is the big time. president obama holes a campaign rally today at ohio state university. mitt romney holds rallies in both ohio and iowa. and i want to take another look at those two polls that everyone is talking about this morning. they seem to paint different pictures of this race.

the pew research center gives mitt romney a four-point lead over president obama. 49% to 45%. that survey did include more likely voters who identify themselves as republicans. however, the latest gallup tracking poll has president obama leading mitt romney 50% to 45%. this poll does include voters who were surveyed before the presidential debate which most voters say romney won though interestingly enough, it showed movement toward obama yesterday. all right. hard to keep track of. there's a lot going on here. cnn political reporter peter hamby joins us live from washington. please, peter, make sense of this for us. >> okay. these are the first two real credible polls we've seen since the debate. the bottom line here is there's movement in both toward mitt romney. you're right. the gallup poll had about three days of sampling before the debate that showed obama winning. after the debate, in the four days after the debate, gallup had romney and obama tied.

if you look inside these numbers, 70% of people surveyed said that romney beat obama in the debate. he basically crushed obama, voters and independents believe that. we'll see polls out every day, we'll have to make sense of all of these and put them in context. there's unmistakable trend toward mitt romney after the debate. both campaigns have internal polling showing that the race has tightened since the debate. john, one thing i'm looking for are the swing state polls. they usually get them on wednesday, thursday, every week. places like ohio, virginia, florida, to see what the impact of the debate is in those states. i'm sure we'll have a poll every day, every hour from here on out, john. >> that's right. we have a poll on cnn on ohio that will be due baying this afternoon which everyone is waiting to see. that will be hugely interesting. also interesting, a new ad just out seconds ago with a somewhat

unusual new star. big bird is making airwaves now. >> yes, he is. the obama campaign and democrats have seized on big bird. mitt romney said cutting funding to pbs would be one element of his plan to shrink the deficit. look at this ad that the obama campaign came out with today. john? >> bernie madoff, ken lay, kozlowski, criminals, glutens of greed and the evil genius who towered over them? one man has the guts to speak his name. >> big bird. >> big bird. >> big bird. >> it's me, big bird. >> big, yellow, a menace to our economy. mitt romney knows it's not wall street you have to worry about, it's sesame street. >> i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs. >> mitt romney taking on the enemy no matter where they nest. >> this is risky for the obama campaign. they're campaign has been

criticized about being about small things. we'll see if this could be a backfire. the campaign tells me this ad is running only on national broadcast and cable. it's not running in swing states. i'm interested to see how much money is behind this ad or if this is just an attempt to get the chattering classes like us -- >> on the one hand it is small, every time i see it, i laugh. it is genuinely humorous and funny. all swing states today, ohio, iowa for these candidates? >> yes, ohio and iowa -- excuse me, romney is in iowa, barack obama in ohio. the jobless rate came out, it fell below 8% on friday, according to administration officials. listen to romney last night in virginia talk about the unemployment rate. and 8%. listen what he said, john. >> we've seen the slowest recover from a recession in history. as a matter of fact, i just read

that if you go back 60 years and look at all the bumps we had with unemployment above 8%, there were 39 months in all 60 years of unemployment. under this president there have been 43 months. >> romney not letting go of the 8% figure even though the unemployment rate has fallen there. he was in virginia last night. the unemployment rate is under 6% in virginia and iowa and approaching 7% in ohio. it's a tough argument for romney to make in certain swing states. >> mitt romney trying to maybe muddle the issue, talking about the 8% figure. you can stay with cnn for the vice presidential debate on thursday night. our coverage begins at 7:00 eastern. you can also go to cnn.com. it's 16 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date with our top stories.

jerry sandusky faces life behind bars when he's sentenced later this morning. he is expected to speak at his hearing this morning before finding out his fate. the convicted child predator released an audio tape from prison insisting he's innocent, while blaming his downfall on one of his victims and a quote, well orchestrated conspiracy." joran van der sloot may become a father. he was arrested but never charged in the disappearance of american teen natalee holloway in aruba in 2005. he's in prison in peru serving a 28-year sentence for murder of another woman. a dutch newspaper reports he apparently got a woman pregnant during an unsupervised visit. >> take a look at this. double down the line and a play at the plate but ichiro suzuki with matrix moves. look at this, he gets around the tag and scores. >> he should have been out by a mile. that gave the yankees an early

lead. >> justice was done as far as i'm concerned there. yankees lost. in the national league, the cardinals even the series at one. the center fielder crashed full speed into the wall to make that amazing grab. carlos beltran hit two home runs in a 12-4 win there. the series goes to d.c. for the first playoff game in the nation's capital. >> that's exciting. >> the first playoff game in d.c. in 79 years. >> fantastic. go, orioles. it is 18 minutes after the hour right now. time for local news making national headlines. a sex scandal forcing detroit's police chief into immediate retirement. the mayor made the announcement yesterday, a week after a female officer alleged she had a relationship with the chief. this is the second time he's been accused of having an affair with a subordinate in his two years on the job. from "the new york post," a different kind of road rage in the big apple.

motorists are furious over a report that the city is rigging its red light cameras. yellow lights should be solid for three seconds. where there are cameras, it has been up to 15% shorter, sometimes as short as 2.5 seconds. aaa says big apple drivers aren't being given enough time to get through the intersections. the cameras have generated more than $235 million for the city in the last five years. >> that sounds like cheating. i want my money back. >> have you gotten a couple of those? >> yes. >> i volcano yet. yet. coming up, what money managers call a ticking time bomb for your stock portfolio and what you can do about it. am and the world's only tridion safety cell which can withstand over three and a half tons. small in size. big on safety.

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[ male announcer ] gly nimble, ridiculously agile, tight turning, fun to drive 2013 smart. ♪ minds your business, u.s. stock futures trading lower this morning. >> the international monetary fund lowered its global growth forecast last night and says risks for recessions are, quote, alarmingly high. >> i don't like to hear that from the imf, quite frankly. >> me neither. >> we're concerned about slowing global growth this year and next year and concerned about governments that don't know how to handle big structural problems in europe and the united states. let me tell you what the imf is forecasting they're looking at u.s. growth of 2.1%, the

eurozone barely growing at 0.2% and china coming in at 8.2%. what's wrong with china, 8.2%? it was more than 9% last year. it's been a decade of almost 10% growth in china. when you don't have that big economy moving as quickly, that means it's less work for american workers and european workers, all people feeding this global beast. let's take a look at what the risks are for global recovery. falling off a u.s. fiscal cliff. this is ard coulding to the im fmt. they have to fix this soon and fix it right. the european crisis is still not contained. look at this morning, we're watching people take to the streets in greece again this morning because there's still so much concern about how they will implement their austerity to try to be bailed out and rescued by the europe bes. the fiscal cliff and stocks so interesting, a cnn money survey showing that the president needs to lead but 60% of the people

surveyed, the money managers surveyed by cnn money says the congressional elections are more important. your congress has to fix this. your congress has to figure out how 20 fix the fiscal cliff. this is what fed rated investors has to say, the fiscal cliff is a ticking time bomb. the success or failure of this election will be whether the new crew will be able to diffuse it. really? central banks around the world have been the only problem solvers. right? government acoring to the imf have to step in and start to figure out what the mess is in europe. >> the imf is clearly trying to send that message. it seems like a political statement. >> absolutely. these political statements have been unheeded by authorities in europe and in the u.s. so far. >> thanks, christine. >> you're welcome. two words you don't want to hear when talking about a rocket. engine failure. coming up, how that could affect the spacex capsule's mission to

the international space station. watch this anytime, take us with you on your desktop or mobile phone. >> take your desktop with you, did i just say that? go to cnn.com/tv.

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no remorse. convicted child molester jerry sandusky speaking out and lashing out, just hours before he learns his fate in court. riding high. new poll showing mitt romney with just the kind of bounce he might have been looking for. crisis on the air. a tv pitch woman passes out on live television but it's what her co-host does that might actually surprise you.

>> lessons to be learn here for us? >> i'm not sure. we'll have to watch and see. welcome back to "early start," happy to have you with us this morning, i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman. 29 minutes after the hour right now. in less than four hours, jerry sandusky, former penn state football coach, proclaiming his innocence just four hours before he's sentenced. he's released an audio tape from behind bars. he's blaming his downfall on one of his victims and claims he's been targeted by a well-orchestrated conspiracy. susan candiotti is live from morning from belafonte, pennsylvania. this is extraordinary. i've never heard a tape like this. >> it is extraordinary, john. imagine this on the eve of his sentencing. he chose not to testify at his trial and is he now laying the blame on a lot of people, everyone from investigators to the news media. but he also blames it on his victims.

>> think about what happened. why and who made it happen. evaluate the accusers and their families. realize they didn't come out of isolate. the accusers were products of many more people and experiences than me. look at their confidants and their honesty. think about how easy it was for them to turn on me given the information, attention and potential perks. i never labeled or put down them or their families. tried and i cared, then asked for the same. please realize all came to the second mile because of issues. some of those may remain. >> i can't believe that he went ahead with that tape and we're hearing that. do his attorneys have any idea about this? how are they reacting? >> the attorney said they didn't know what was in the statement but they knew he was going to do it. after all, they made arrangements with the radio station for him to record and release this statement. here's what led into it. there was a meeting with the

judge yesterday and the judge during that meeting made it perfectly clear that jerry sandusky was not to be critical of the judicial system or the jurors or the victims or anyone elle. well, the next best thing, we see what happened. he chose to release a statement like this in this way, interesting to see, john, whether the judge brings this up today. certainly i wouldn't be surprised if the prosecutors bring it up. >> it seems like a huge risk to take. susan candiotti live in pennsylvania this morning. thanks very much. >> 32 minutes past the hour. some of the best news that mitt romney campaign has received during this entire campaign with less than a month to go to election day, at least one new poll shows a republican leaping over president obama. this is from the pew research center. shows romney leading 39% to 35%. pew did sample more republicans in this particular. they sampled more democrats last month. >> better news for the obama campaign in gallup's tracking

poll. that one has the president leading by five points. we'll talk to ryan lizza about all of this. >> confusing enough? >> it's nuts. thank you. well, shed some light on it for us. >> look, first thing i would say is don't get wound up by the sampling of democrats and raynes from poll to poll. there's no science to this. polls will differ on that number, depending on what they're finding in the field and it will drive you crazy to dig deep into the poll and say this one has more democrats, this one has more republicans. look at the trends over time. we have two polls. we want ten polls off this debate, we want to know where the race really is. all we have is gallup and pew. it's showing a huge bump up for romney. all these polls have a house effect. over time they all show in the course of 2012 a little bit of an advantage for one candidate

or another. rasmussen very often shows a pro-republican house effect. pew has very often shown a pro-obama effect. it makes this huge romney lead even more surprising. wait for a week's worth of polls and we'll see where the race stands. as you point out, this is the best news romney has had since before his convention. >> does this couldn't as an october surprise. >> usually october surprises is some outside event that changes the election or something -- some conspiracy that a campaign polls at the last second to advantage themselves. this is mitt romney having as good a debate as he possibly could. look, good debates don't did the always move the numbers. the early indications are that romney moved the numbers. we talked last time about what he needed to do in that debate. he did every one of those things. >> whether the debates matter. >> let's not talk about that. >> look at him among women

voters. before the debate, barack obama led 56% to 38%. in the pew poll now tied 47% to 47%. look at enthusiasm for mitt romney. also a fascinating number. before the debate it was at 56%. in the pew poll now it's at 67%. you'll have to pay my word for it there. it's not up on the screen. clearly internal movement there. >> if that number about women is right and continues through the election, barack obama can't win. obama can't win unless there's a big gender gap. >> most polls shows there's a gender gap there. >> that's correct. that's why it's a little surprising for them to be tied among women after obama had such a huge lead. >> we've got the swing state polls coming out soon and we believe that will give us a lot of information, if there's been movement there. >> look at the national polls as the macrolo look. if the national polls are moving with be you should see similar

movement in the states. before the debate, obama led in almost every swing state. >> before the debate, you talked to democratic strategists and they were laser-like focus on mitt romney. now they've gone back to the flip-flop charge, which is something they stayed away from for a long time. >> this is an interesting strategic debates that democrats have had on how you go after mitt romney. do you attack him as an extreme conservative or do you go with you don't know what he believes. bill clinton weighed in on this in 2011 when he started advising the obama campaign. clinton said go with the extremist attack. they tried that flip-flopping thing on me and it didn't work. the american people thought i would do the right thing. so his view, his advice to the

obama campaign is hit romney as a republican extremist, not as a flip-flopper. as you see, the campaigns have bounced back and forth between those two strategies. same exact thing with bush against kerry in 2004, they had the same strategic debate. do they hit kerry as a liberal or a flip-flopper? they did both. they ended up with flip-flopper. do you hit them more on character or policy? >> ryan lizza, thanks very much. >> thanks, guys. stay with cnn for the vice presidential debate, also on thursday night. our coverage begins at 7:00 eastern. go to cnn.com as well. a new memo obtain by cnn showing u.s. embassy staff in libya had concerns about security back in february and requested a 16-member special security team be allowed to remain ontheir departure date. that request was denied. the state department insists an

extension of the security team would not have made a difference. >> it turns out there was a glitch with the launch of the first private cargo flight to the international space station. spacex says one of the capsules failed on launch. a communications satellite also aboard the spacex rocket did not reach its intended orbit due to the loss of the booster engine. >> all right. a record breaking attempt, just a huge amount of risk here. >> insanity. >> a man tries to jump from the edge of space. it's like 23 miles up. what on earth is he doing? >> i don't want to watch it. i'm scared for him. [ female announcer ] sometimes a good deal turns out to be not such a good deal. but bounty gives you value you can see. in this lab demo, one sheet of bounty leaves this surface cleaner than two sheets of the leading ordinary brand.

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between insane and impossible. a freefall from the edge of space, 23 miles up. >> think about it. that is three times the cruising altitude for jumbo jets. he's trying to crack the sound barrier. cnn's brian todd is in rose wwe, new mexico for the supersonic event. he has a preview for us. >> reporter: zoraida, john, the moment is just about at hand. we're about to find out if felix baumgartner can break this record. he's going to try to break the speed record for a human traveling outside a space vehicle. no one has ever broken the sound barrier, 690 miles an hour in just a suiting with helmet and parachute. he'll be try to do that today. here is what we have going here. this is the balloon that will take him up to the edge of space. it's called a high altitude balloon. that's a diagram of it there. the balloon is ten times thinner

than a plastic bag, yet incredibly strong. this is the atechnology involve here. it will take about three hours to get to his starting point. you see some of the own components here. what is key is if any of the suit gets breached at those high a altitudes, about 30 sections after his jump will be the most hostile. if anything about the suit gets breached, he could freeze because of the severe temperatures there. it gets about 70 degrees below zero we're told. if any of the suit gets breached he could also the air sucked out of his lungs and his blood could boil. this suit which they've spent years in development is key here. it cannot fail in any way during this jump. a lot of technology at work. a lot of science at work obviously here. it's going to be fascinating to see how this works.

and if felix baumgartner can set the record. zoraida, john, back to you. >> he could die. >> yes, he could die. >> his blood could boil. >> seems like a bad idea. >> our thanks to brian todd in roswell, new mexico. we have live coverage of this event throughout the day. i have to tell you, i'm scared to watch. >> me, too. the record for the longest ever freefall has stood for more than 50 years. this is footage of then air force captain's dive in 1960. if felix baumgartner is successful, kitinger will be one of those congratulating him. >> did we answer the question why? and nick wallenda will tell

us what might be going through his mind as he prepares to jump from space. this was not part of the show but it sure kept viewers from turning the channel. coming up, what happened to the tv host who passed out on live tv. tonight our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally.

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48 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date. here's christine romans. jerry sandusky, the convicted child predator, former penn state football coach still insists he's innocent. he released an audio tape from prison yesterday blaming his conviction on one of his victims and what he called a well orchestrated conspiracy involving the media and penn state. the mexican navy says it has strong indications that it killed the main leader of the zetas cartel, the mexican navy saying it retaliated when it came under attack during patrols in northern mexico yesterday. it's believed this man and another man were killed. mexican investigators also reporting they arrested a different zetas leader but they also made a stunning revelation. they say the man in custody, salvador alfonzo martinez escabada is in custody of the

killing of hartley. danni deveto, pearlman are getting a divorce. they first worked together in the tv series "taxi." she's best known for her role on "cheers." >> very sad for them. >> wish them both the best. a scary moment on qvc when guest host cassie slain faints on live tv. >> but you know -- >> you okay? what it does, it gives us an opportunity -- >> that's exactly what berman would do. >> he would scream. >> the show must go on! the news doesn't rest. >> even as the cameras cut away,

the co-host didn't skip a beat. another qvc host said she was suffering from low blood sugar at the time. >> the dude just kept on talking. >> that's what you would do. make sure the camera was not on you and keep on going. >> it can afford to be on me a little bit more as it is, let's be honest. >> a big head. >> 50 minutes after the hour right now. it is another wet, chilly morning in the great lakes. and along the east coast. rob, i may not get through this intro. >> i support you right there. more camera time for john. >> tell us about the weather, fast, help me. >> good morning, guys. listen. cold weather across much of the eastern two-thirds of the country. the wet stuff has emerged from new york back through philly. baltimore, they have the issues last night. why they don't start these things with the home field advantage is beyond me. dry weather expected later on

today. this morning is chilly and wet. 52 in new york city. back through pittsburgh and places down across the ohio river into the 30s and further south than that. we have frost and freeze advisories and warnings as far south as nashville, tennessee, where temperatures are getting close to the freezing mark. texas, 25 yesterday, lisbon, ohio, 29 degrees, oklahoma city, 31. this is sometimes record-breaking stuff. another cold front will sneak across the ohio river valley and the great lakes. we're looking at a longer term trend where temperatures will be below average. 59 new york, 65 degrees in chicago. a chilly morning in atlanta. rebounding, 69 in the afternoon. john, i'll toss it back to you. >> oh, zoraida, you're there as well. >> thanks, rob. >> occasionally now. 52 minutes past the hour. a packed hour ahead on "early start." that's a live look at the courthouse in bellefonte,

pennsylvania. jerry sandusky will find out his sentence for abusing young boys. on the eve of his sentencing he put out a stunning audio tape blaming the victim, victim number one. victims rights attorney gloria allred will join us live in the next hour. >> fascinating. all dogs go to heaven but one of them comes back. a border collie named layia being called a miracle dog. >> facebook ready to offer cash to millions of users. are you one of them? >> i better be. >> from animal crackers in my soup to spaghetti and butter. which celebrity thinks that honey boo-boo is the next shirley temple? we'll tell you next. [ woman ] it's 32 minutes to go time,

and the candidate's speech is in pieces all over the district. the writer's desktop and the coordinator's phone are working on a joke with local color. the secure cloud just received a revised intro from the strategist's tablet. and while i make my way into the venue, the candidate will be rehearsing off of his phone. [ candidate ] and thanks to every young face i see out there. [ woman ] his phone is one of his biggest supporters. [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center... working together has never worked so well. your soups are so awesomely delicious my husband and i can't stop eating 'em! what's...that... on your head? can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

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welcome back to "early start." 56 minutes past the hour. i'm zoraida sambolin along with mr. john berman. taking a look at what is trending on the web this morning. >> powerful words from a powerful guy. kansas city chiefs tackle, the 30-year-old qb suffered a concussion. after the game winston reminded the fans the players are not gladiators. >> i've already kind of come to the understanding, i probably won't live as long because i played this game. that's okay. that's the choice i've made. that's a choice all of us has made. but when you cheer, when you cheer somebody getting knocked out, i don't care who it is, and it just so happened to be matt cassel, it's sickening.

it's 100% sickening. >> that's an incredible moment. >> he is 100% right. >> absolutely. >> all right. switching gears here. rosie hooked on honey boo-boo? rosie o'donnell tells people.com she got addicted to the show when she was recuperating from a heart attack. she has a presence and intellect way beyond her years like shirley temple. rosie also says she'd like to meet the family and buy them a house, one that doesn't have railroad tracks running through the backyard. >> she ended up as an ambassador, i'm not sure we're going to see an ambassador for honey boo-boo. >> you never know. >> i guess not. >> you never know. >> maybe a little. >> all right. all aboard the mitt romney chain in your late night laughs that is. take a look. you know what it is, it's nobel prize season. they're passing out the nobel

prize. earlier today the medical team who received a nobel prize for reviving the mitt romney campaign. brought it back to life. >> i am still glowing from last week's runaway debate victory for mitt romney! he's got the mitt-mentum, the mo-mitmum, the rom-mentum. it never existed before. he has a bump in the polls, campaign donations are rolling in. it's all good news. >> he stopped at the tin fish stran the in port st. lucie, florida yesterday. one of the employees decided to clean him up. he's already creating new jobs. >> that guy was going to town on

romney's face there. "early start" continues right now. blaming the victim, the convicted child molester jerry sandusky pleads his case from behind bars. it is a stunning audio tape. just hours before he is sentenced this morning. debate bounce, mitt romney obama's lead in one new poll, major shift among women voters and an injection of enthusiasm. inside these numbers with just four weeks left. >> dogged determination. dramatic video of firefighters saving a family's pet from a burning home. >> good morning, to you. welcome to "early start." >> it is 6:00 a.m. in the east. we'll begin with a stunning audiotape, one more defiant claim of innocence from jerry sandusky. the former penn state football coach faces sentencing in three hours for sexually abusing three boys during a 15 years period.

what sandusky do about it he released a videotape denying he did anything wrong. >> they could take away my life, they could make me out as a monster, they could treat me as a monster. but they can't take away my heart. in my heart i know i did not do these alleged disgusting acts. in these tapes he lays the blame on one of his victims. i find this stunning. >> reporter: no one in the public expected to hear from jerry sandusky on the eve of sentencing. you're right. for him there's no short vag of people to blame, everyone from investigators to penn state, the media and, yes, that includes his victims. he calls them alleged victims. >> a young man who was dramatic, a veteran accuser and was a sought attention started

everything. he was joined by a well-orchestrated effort of the immediate area investigators, the system, penn state, psychologists, civil attorneys and other accusers. they won. >> you have a brand new statement from one of sandusky's victims? >> reporter: that's right. some of them will address the court directly. others will have statements read for them. but this is an exserpt from a victim who will speak in court and it says in part i hope and pray that when your honor sentences mr. sandusky you consider the real harm he's done to me and others and take into account the tears, pain and private anguish and others have suffered. again we'll hear from him as well as some others too. >> susan, what about the jurors? they were the ones who rendered this decision. i understand you spoke to one. >> reporter: that's right. they want closure too. this juror says she knows of at least four all together who will be here in the courtroom. what do they want to hear?

they want to hear an apology. doesn't sound like they will get one. >> susan candiotti -- >> like to hear him say he's sorry and i want him to apologize and to recognize that what he did was wrong. but i don't believe that's what i'm going hear from him. i think it's a courageous -- >> susan candiotti live in bellefonte, pennsylvania. >> let's turn now the presidential race with election day four weeks from today. mitt romney wakes up this morning to some very good news. he had another indication that he's benefiting from his strong debate performance. a poll by pew research center gives romney a four-point lead over president obama. 49% to 45. that survey included likely voters who identified themselves as republicans. that same poll last month had romney trailing bambi eight points with more self-identified democrats. the latest gallup tracking poll has romney leading 50% to 45%.

we go to washington to peter. so confusing. can you break down those numbers for us? >> reporter: i'll try. they are confusing. we're getting a poll every day. one of the poll hungry classes in political history. everyone agrees mitt romney got a debate bounce. everyone fwrees tagrees the rac tied. talking about that gallup poll and why it's different from the pew poll, the gallup poll tracked the race over seven days heading in to the debate. barack obama was winning. we know that. heading out of the debate mitt romney closed the gap and pulled away somewhat. and then just yesterday gallup released single day tracking showing obama pulling away. that's a nice data point on monday for an obama campaign looking for good news coming out of the debate. the bottom line here, again,

both campaigns believe the race has tightened since the debate, their internal polls show that and we're anxiously looking ahead to swing state polls, especially one in ohio that cnn is putting out later today. >> i know we're tracking that. let's talk about "sesame street". a lot of people thought big bird would be gone. no way. big bird is back with a convenient against. >> reporter: democrats have pushed this big bird message since the debate. mitt romney said part of his deficit reduction plan was to cut funding to pbs. the obama campaign has a new tv ad mocking romney this morning featuring big bird. look at this. >> bernie madoff, gluttons of greed. one man has the guts to speak his name. >> big bird. >> it's me, big bird. >> big, yellow, a menace to our economy. mitt romney knows it's not wall

street you have to worry about, it's "sesame street". >> i'm going to stop the subsidy to pbs. >> mitt romney take on our enemies no matter where they nest. >> threw have it. evil genius, big bird coming to a tv channel near you. the chain says this is running nationally on broadcast and cable not running in swing states. i'm anxious to see how much money is behind this ad. >> whether it works because we watched it earlier and i got to tell you the guys are riveted still by it. they are laughing but could this backfire? >> reporter: that's an important question. the obama campaign has been criticized about small thing not having a plan. the republican national committee take a look at this actually has a new graphic out today, these graphics are designed to be shared on social media and the like. but they point out that the obama campaign and president obama himself have mentioned big bird and elmo in recent campaign events but no mention of libya

and according to them no plans to fix the economy. so, before the convention, before bill clinton's big speech, before obama's big speech, reframing the race, the campaign was criticized for being about small things. republicans will seize on that again for sure. >> all right. thanks for sharing. you can stay with cnn for the presidential debate on thursday night. six minutes after the hour. north korea now claims its missiles can reach the u.s. mainland but some experts are not so convinced. one analyst says the capability requires a lot of development and testing and based on what north korea has done so far he's just not convinced. north korea making the claims just days after south korea announced the deal with the u.s. to extend its missile range. >> security is very tight for angela merkel's visit to athens today. the german chancellor is very unpopular in greece. she's seen as the architect and enforcer of drastic cuts imposed

on athens by the european. greek officials are trying to head off protests like this one. merkel's visit comes as greek government officials attempt to pass another $17 billion in cuts to qualify for more bailout money. >> in just a few hours high above new mexico i'm talking really, really high, a sky diver will attempt a record setting jump "from the edge" of space. 23 miles up. 43-year-old felix baumgartner hopes to break a record that's stood for more than 50 years. he's trying to be the first person ever to break the sound barrier in just a pressurized suit, helmet and parachute. i'm terrified. >> he could die. we'll wish him luck. this just into cnn the nobel prize for physics just awarded.

the winners is a frenchman and an american for their work for measuring and manipulating individual particles while measuring their quantum nature. put your name on the list. >> eight minutes after the hour. still unbeaten the houston texans 5-0 after beating the new york jets in monday night football. foster led the way with 252 yards. the texans and atlanta falcons are the only undefeated teams left. >> 3,000 people could have been exposed to fungal meningitis. it has sickened more than 100. we have a live report with the latest details after this quick break.

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we're happy you're with us. startling new numbers this morning on that fungal meningitis outbreak. centers for disease control now say as many as 13,000 people may have received contaminate ed steroid injections. the number may keep going on. elizabeth cohen joins us live now from atlanta. your reporting on this has been so good and informative. this keeps getting scarier and scarier. >> reporter: what i find scary is how in the world did contaminated medicine get out the 13,000 people. what failed in our system that it got contaminated in the first place and then was sent out. and let me give the new numbers of people who actually have gotten sick or have died. there are now according to the cdc 105 cases of fungal meningitis related to this outbreak and eight deaths. now it can take weeks or even months for someone to get sick after getting one of these

contaminated injections, so john that's why the numbers are going to go up because people, some people who got the shot let's say in august or september or even before are just now realizing that they are sick. >> a lot of people. how do you fine them all? >> reporter: state health departments are telling hospitals and doctors get on the phone, send letters, track these people down. you know who you gave them to. find them. oil tell you as an "empowered patient" you should be the one to take the initiative because it's possible the doctor or the hospital missed you. we have a list of all hospitals and doctors that received these potentially tainted injections and you should call and say was it made by the new england compounding company and if it was then you want to talk to your doctor about possibly getting tested for fungal meningitis. >> if you're a patient get on it right now. if you do not receive an injection, anything to worry? >> reporter: no worry. if you didn't receive an

injection you're fine. this disease does not spread person to person. it's not contagious. another group that doesn't need to worry is if you're getting an injection now you should be fine because doctors know not to use this particular brand of medication. >> elizabeth cohen, thank you so much. it is 14 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date. sentencing day for jerry sandusky. the former penn state football coach will be permitted to speak at his 9:00 a.m. hearing this morning before finding out his fate. he released an audiotape from prison yesterday insisting that he's innocent and blaming his downfall on one of his victims, and a well orchestrated conspiracy, he says. >> facebook offering a new deal to set all class action lawsuit over its sponsored stories advertising. "the social network" says it will compensate millions of facebook users whose names and pictures were used in a sponsored stories ad with a cash payment of $10 each.

a federal judge rejected an earlier settlement offer that set aside $20 million for lawyers and advocacy groups and no money for users. >> newly declassified documents shows the u.s. air force was trying to build a flying saucer. this is back in 1956 while publicly denying the existence of ufos. officials were prepared to spend over $3 million for a super sonic saucer that could take off and land vertically and reach spaeds of mach 4 and altitudes of 1300 feet. the project was eventually scrapped. >> we were trying to build a flying saucer? that's a big deal. 16 minutes after the hour. firefighters in texas, they refuse to give up responding to a house fire where they found at that lifeless border collie named leah. she wasn't moving or breathing. they put an oxygen mask on her

one specifically designed for pets. they worked for an hour when she finally popped her head up. she's expected to be fine. >> that family must be thrilled. >> if you're about to go to work and go nowhere fast stick around longer. >> christine romans with today's road warriors. >> reporter: time is money whether your regular commute or unfamiliar territory if you want to beat traffic. traffic.com might be able to help. do this before you leave. it covers more than 50 cities around the country. rates traffic in real-time from one to ten. it will fact ortraffic a and suingest the fastest route. you can sign up for text alerts about traffic jams that might affect you on the way. let's talk about saving money on gas. gasbuddy. this is an interesting website where it's also an app. users report prices at the pump. gasbuddy crates a chart so you

can find the best value in your very own area. and for one deal there's a waz app, allows drivers to alert others to traffic, road hazards, fastest routes, where to find the cheapest gas. you got to save a penny where you can. if logging the miles at the end of the tax year use this service, called biz mile.com record your trips on biz mile. it tracks the miles and gives you a summary for your tax return. >> love that. >> for a lot of people who are self-employed, working in the delivery business, traveling for work, technology is simplifying the way we do business and use the road. >> i try a lot of the traffic apps because i hate getting caught in traffic jams. they work okay. >> they are only as good as the input. it requires people using them and people putting good

information in there. out here on the east coast, every ten minutes you get the good stuff. >> all right. >> nice to know they kwift. >> she might be the most hated woman in greece. this is a reception german chancellor angela merkel is getting. these are live pictures. a look at the protesters there. the story behind the story coming up. this happy couple used capital one venture miles for their "destination wedding." double miles you can "actually" use. but with those single mile travel cards... [ bridesmaid ] blacked out... but i'm a bridesmaid. oh! "x" marks the spot she'll never sit. but i bought a dress! a toast... ...to the capital one venture card. fly any airline, any flight, anytime. double miles you can actually use. what a coincidence? what's in your wallet? [ all screaming ]

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signalling a lower opening for markets. >> international monetary fund lowered its global growth forecast last night. a big reason for that is the risks from the european debt crisis. >> protests are starting in greece right now. christine has all of the details. are those live pictures? >> we're watching live protests in the streets of athens. teachers, doctors, public unions, opposition parties have all pledged to take to the street today. if you're going for your check up in athens this afternoon you're not going to be able to see your doctor because everybody is coming in to the streets. angela merkel, the german chancellor is in greece for the first time since 2008 there to talk to the government to lend her support for all of the things that the greek people have to do to get their financial house in order so that they can stay a part of the european union. it's been the first time she's been there since 2008 which -- it's something that's interesting. people who are greek citizen,

people close to this country say they feel a little offended this country has gone through so much and this is the first time she's come there. we'll see if things get rowdy or violent. usually these have been peaceful but you get small elements of people with molotov cocktails on the streets. we'll watch them. the signs are pretty telling. ground m fran merkel, go home. greece is one of the big reasons why the everyone mf did lower the global growth forecast. europe has to solve these problems, different countries with different budgets, different tax patterns but the same currency. in the u.s., u.s. has to get its act together with its fiscal cliff. all of this is feeding into the angst. live pictures on the streets of greece, german chancellor angela

merkel is coming today and greek people taking to the streets. >> here in the u.s. what is one thing we need to know? >> the only thing you need to control is retirement. you need to save eight times your salary. fidelity says eight times your salary for reentitlement. so if you're 35 years old you should have saved one time your salary right now. by the time you're 45 you should have saved three times your salary. fidelity is trying to figure out how to help people with that magic number. saving, saving, saving with these uncertainties in the world. eight times by the time you're 65. >> i put in my age and then my salary and it said you will never retire. eight times. it's incredible. >> some financial planners say that's too low. >> all right. >> threw have it. >> get to work.

>> thanks. 25 minutes after the hour. in a sex scandal rocking the detroit police department right now the allegations go straight to the top. we'll have the story coming up. oh no, not a migraine now. try this... bayer? this isn't just a headache. trust me, this is new bayer migraine. [ male announcer ] it's the power of aspirin plus more in a triple action formula to relieve your tough migraines. new bayer migraine formula.

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and make success a reality. bny mellon wealth management have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. . no remorse. convicted child molester jerry sandusky speaking out and lashing out just hours before he learns his fate in court. >> rising up, signs of a mitt romney debate bump in a brand new poll. falling down. a tv pitch woman passes out on live tv. scary but apparently no show stopper. you have to see what we mean. stay with us for that.

>> incredible video. >> welcome back to "early start." >> nice to have you with us. 29 minutes past the hour. in just a few hours jerry sandusky will find out if he dies behind bars for molesting and raping ten boys. sandusky spoke out last night talking to a student radio station. essentially blamed victims. the media. the system. and the school for conspiring against him. >> they could take away my life, they could make me out as a monster, they could treat me as a monster but they can't take away my heart. in my heart i know i did not do these alleged disgusting acts. my wife has been my only sex partner and that was after marriage. >> what's effect of this tape on today's sentencing. let's ask gloria allred. she's joining us this morning. so, you've been on the other side of trials like this. you represent ad man who said

bernie fine sexually abused him. what is your reaction to this tape by sandusky? >> well, this is very, very bad timing for him. it sound as though he made that tape probably against the advice of his attorneys. but he did it anyway. why? because he's jerry sandusky. he's used to being in charge. he wanted to say what he wanted to say. >> gloria -- >> that's not smart. the judge should not take it into account because it's not said in the courtroom but judges are human beings too, they know what's going on out in the world. it's hard to ignore this one. >> gloria, apparently his lawyers did know about this, at least the lead lawyer. he was the one who set up that interview, although he claims that he didn't know what sandusky was going to say. are you surprised here? >> well, i think it's a big mistake. and maybe his client said look i really want to do it, it's important so he went along with

it. i think jerry sandusky got himself into just a heap of trouble by doing interviews even before he was convicted. that really hurt him. and here he's calling the victims accusers. they are not accusers. they are victims. he was convicted. and he needs to stop blaming anyone else and everyone else and take responsibility himself. he's not helping himself by doing this. he's hurting himself. >> he claims he's innocent. lawyers said they will appeal this because they said they didn't have enough time to prepare for this trial. do you think maybe that's why he's doing it and its valid in that case? >> well, he is going with the theme and his narrative of i didn't get a fair trial, my lawyers didn't have time to prepare. but that really isn't something that is going to get him anywhere by saying it on the radio. maybe they can use that as a ground for appeal, one of the many grounds that they may have for appeal, they may or may not

be successful for it, but this is really sad. and about not having sex with anyone other than his wife, really this is not about sex, this is about child molestation. and maybe he doesn't think that what he did was sex, maybe he thought he was just loving children. but it was a criminal act and he needs to stand up and take responsibility. >> we know sandusky will speak today at the sentencing and some victims will speak as well. we have an excerpt here from victim number five. i hope and pray when your honor sentences mr. sandusky you consider the real harm he has done to me and others and take into account the tears, pain and private anguish i and others have suffered. when a judge sentences in this case how much weight do defendant and victim statements have on what the judge doles out? >> some judges that don't

actually even hear victim impact statements until after the sentence. some hear it before. there are guidelines for the crime and for what the sentence should be. i'm sure that this judge having heard all of the victims' testimony because after all many of the victims did, in fact, testify, does understand what they have suffered, and that will be a factor in the sentencing. >> all right. gloria allred, a victims rights attorney. we appreciate your time this morning. thank you. fascinating. >> it really is. >> 34 minutes after the hour right now. joran van der sloot may become a father. the dutch man was arrested but never charged in the disappearance of american teenager natalie holloway in aru aruba. he's serving time for murdering another woman. he got a woman pregnant during an unsupervised prison visit.

>> a scary moment on kwfs. kathy slain was on to sell an android tablet for kids. she faint on television. watch carefully. >> are you okay? okay. >> what it does is it gives us an opportunity -- >> he didn't miss a beat. even as cameras cut away the co-host did not skip a beat. he just kept on pitching. slain posted on her facebook yesterday she's feeling better. another qvc host says she was suffering from low blood pressure. >> thought i would help you first and then read the news. >> i don't think you would do that. you would say get off of us. roll her off the set. >> i would help. 35 minutes after the hour. the great lakes and the east coast have been dealing with a bitter blast of cold weather. when will this chill loosen its grip? rob marciano in atlanta, please

tell us now. >> there's a job opening over here, rob. >> i can see the tension this morning. it's not good. listen when you got to sell you got to sell. qvc, that time is valuable. keep going. >> guy mentality. >> everybody is okay. >> yes. >> boston, new york back to philadelphia and baltimore rain this morning. talk about the chill it will hang around with us probably to about march or april, we're getting to that time the year where it gets colder and colder. rest of the this week. where it's raining along the i-95 corridor, temperatures in the lower 50s, upper 40s. away from that it's drier but chillier. 33 degrees in pittsburgh. we have temperatures that are in the 30s down across parts of the tennessee and kentucky area. because of that frost advisories and freeze warnings have been posted for temps in the 20s and 30s this morning. be posted again tomorrow. some record lows from yesterday.

dalhart, texas, 25. this next front will come through and reinfor the cold shot. at least for the rest of the week, maybe the weekend, beginning of next week we'll warm up a little bit but we're getting closer to winter. >> we'll hold on to next week, rob. >> 6:36 on the east coast. one second it's business as usual next it's chaos. wow. at the cash register. that's a lot of chaos. that story coming up. [ female announcer ] beef, meet flavor boost. flavor boost, meet beef. it's swanson flavor boost. concentrated broth to add delicious flavor to your skillet dish in just one stir. mmm! [ female announcer ] cook, meet compliments. get recipes at flavorboost.com.

this is some of the most welcome news that the mitt romney campaign has received this entire race with less than a no go until election day one new poll shows the republican leaping over president obama.

this is from the pew research center it shows romney leading 49-45%. we should point out the pew survey included more likely voters that identified themselves as republican. >> in gallup's daily tracking poll still has the president leading by five points a lead that grew yesterday though some pre-debate numbers factored in there as well. we'll talk all about this with our cnn contributor and washington correspondent for "the new yorker" as well. let's talk about the pew poll and that romney lead. could you break down those numbers. >> that's a huge lead. if that number is correct, you know, it seems to be a little bit of an outlier. we don't have a lot of information. all the polls that have been released since the debate, state polls, national polls and the average for romney is he's increased his performance by about four to five points. that's a big deal. since the convention, obama seemed to have a lead of about

four points. now it's gone back to the pre-convention period where it was tied or obama had a one to two-point lead in all the polls. the best thing to do is to wait for the by the end of the week we'll have more national poll. we'll see what's showing up in the swing state. it does seem just like obama got a big bump out of his convention, mitt romney has a significant bump out of his first debate performance. >> we need to look at overall trends. overall trends clearly moving towards romney including in key voting groups. women voters, if you look at pew a month ago obama had an 18-point lead in the pew poll. now that number is essentially tied at 47%. that's not a number that's sustainable for barack obama. >> that's shocking 0 for a lot of people. if it's tied if obama goes into election day with women splitting evenly between memorabilia and obama, obama can't win. he needs a big lead among female voters to win. romney improved his numbers

among hispanic voters. if the pew poll is right and consistent and continues through election day obama can't win. you have to take it with a grain of salt, be a little bit cautious. there were more republicans in that poll and that just might be a factor of republicans being excited. >> exactly. we're seeing that as well. this excitement is building, this momentum is building. >> there's a huge change in republican enthusiasm. it just might be when pew was out there calling people republicans were excited about mitt romney's debate performance. >> i talked to a lot of democratic strategists in the last few days and they admit this race has smichtd they are not in full panic mode. they say what they have going for them in the next day they think they have a backstop on the swing states namely ohio but they say look we have two debates left and if barack obama does well, wins it, not have a blow-out but if he wins them

they should be okay. >> he can't suffer a loss the way he did -- he can't suffer three in a row like he did the first night. one thing important to remember, i've been arguing historically debates have not been as crucial or defining as we say they are. >> on this show, as a matter of fact. >> one exception, 2004, john kerry who lost the race, of course. he did make up about three to four points during the debates. not enough to win but it had some impact. so romney still got a lot of work to do. >> is the vice presidential debate going matter? >> don't say it again. >> the vice presidential debate will determine the winner? no. historically -- people pick the top of the ticket. it can change the narrative, the atmosphere, depending on what happens. if paul ryan does something dramatic it can change the story line. it can turn things away from the pro romney story line.

a lot of pressure on ryan not to screw things up now that romney has some momentum. >> i think elections are one big cake and every ingredient matters. >> that's true. >> it's to determine what specific things actually make a difference. day in and day out we talk about these things having monumental effect. it's hard to know in hindsight what matter. >> you should watch all of it right here on cnn. stay with cnn for the vice presidential debate on thursday night. our coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. >> let's get you up to date on this morning's top stories. jerry sandusky faces life behind bars when he's sentenced in just over two hours. the former penn state football coach released an audiotape from prison yesterday proclaiming his innocence. he also blamed his child sex abuse convictions on his victims and what he called a well-orchestrated conspiracy.

>> the nobel prize for physics have been awarded. serge haroche and david wineland for their work in measuring and manipulating individual particles by preserve their quantum nature. >> the owner of a liquor store in california was nearly killed look at this while ringing up a customer. a pickup truck crashed right into the store, trapping the owner. the incident was caught by surveillance cameras. driver was arrested, charged with driving under the influence. my goodness. the owner's legs were broken. at least he survived. >> take a look at this yankees/orioles playoff game. double down the line. about to see a play at the plate that will last for the ages. suzuki should have been out but by an unbelieve move he dodges the tag and manages to score. i think he was out but hey, the

yankees blew an early lead, the o's came back to tie the series. in the national league the cardinals even the series at 1-1. full speed into the wall to make this amazing grab. wow. >> i got it. >> he's happy. carlos beltran hit two home runs. the series goes to washington, d.c. that's the first playoff game in the nation's capital in 79 years. >> that should be sold out. soledad o'brien joins us. >> want eight more of those. all right. ahead this morning we'll take a closer look at what will happen to jerry sandusky when he goes to court. obviously those tapes that you were talking about in those tapes, he's proclaiming his innocence, pointsing fingers as well at his victims. we'll have live coverage from outside the chorourthouse and h from one of the attorneys. this man, free falling

daredevil, felix baumgartner is preparing to literally fall "from the edge" of space, 23 miles above new mexico. going to bring you his launch live. also we'll chat with another daredevil, nick wallenda. >> and how alex houston is helping kids. much more ahead at 7:00. i have a cold, and i took nyquil, but i'm still stubbed up.

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this just in. the dive from space is on hold

due to weather. felix baumgartner who will attempt a record setting jump fr from the edge of space. on the way down he's hoping to break the sound barrier. the skydive is not without risk. felix baumgartner could freeze or have his blood boil, nothing major. >> not so bad. cnn brian todd is in roswell, new mexico to witness the big event. he joins us live right now. i understand this big event has been put on hold because of weather. any chance it will be cancelled today? >> reporter: slight chance, john. it's been put on hold for now because the winds at about 700 to 800 feet above the surface of the earth near where the top of the balloon would be are a little stronger than they are comfortable w-17, 18 miles per hour. they want it to calm down to 5 miles per hour or lower than that. they have about a three hour window in which to launch this. they still could go later on this morning. that window starts about 6:30

local, 8:30 eastern time. we'll go 11:30 eastern time. beyond that it may have to be postponed by a day. our photojournalist can zoom in to the capsule. you see it at the end of that crane. everything is pretty much set on the field here where the balloon and capsule will launch. the balloon is right behind there. you can see the capsule. that's where this mission will launch from. surface winds here are almost non-existent. may just be a slight hold due to the weather and we'll see what the weather conditions bring us in the next couple of hours. >> we know he's trying to set a world record. as you pointed out his blood could boil. or he could freeze. have you spoken to him? is he scared? >> i did speak to him a couple of months ago when i met him at the air and space museum in washington, d.c. i spoke to him and the man whose record he's trying to break. i did ask felix that question.

take a listen. >> you sard? you nervous? >> actually i'm not scared, i'm not nervous because there's so much preparation. we rehearsed everything. just getting out of the capsule is a procedure that includes 43 steps and we have been properly train every step. >> so that gives you in a nutshell 43 steps just to step out of the capsule. amazing the detail to which they planned this. so they are really concerned about the weather right now. they think this could still go off maybe any time in that three hour window starting in about an hour and a half from now. >> we're looking forward this. we're on the edge of our seats. this sounds like an amazing thing that's about to happen today. in the next hour on starting point, astronaut mark kelly will talk to soledad o'brien about felix baumgartner's super sonic skydive. >> what he must be feeling, what does it feel like, crazy stuff. today's best advice first man to

be named white house videographer. that's coming up. chaud chaud

alriwoah! did you get that? and...flip! yep, look at this. it takes like 20 pictures at a time. i never miss anything. isn't that awesome? uh that's really cool. you should upload these. i know, right? that is really amazing. the pictures are so clear.

kevin's a handsome devil that phone does everything! search dog tricks. okay, see if we can teach him something cool. look at how lazy kevin is. kevin, get it together dude cmon, kevin take 20 pictures with burst shot on the galaxy s3.

. just a couple minutes left. >> we wrap it up as always with best advice. >> today we hear from arun chaudhary. the first official white house videographer. >> the best piece i got was from the president.

if you ain't doing it it ain't getting done. >> the president said make sure you get my good side. >> not many people say that's the best piece of advice i got it. >> all right. >> that is "early start." >> "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now. >> good morning. welcome everybody. our "starting point" this morning, jerry sandusky is speaking out just hours before he learns his fate. he proclaims his innocence. he points fingers at his victims. listen. >> why, and who made it happen? evaluate the accusers and their families. >> developing now, protests and police greeks on the offense as germany's angela merkel pay as visit. a new poll brings some big news for governor mitt romney. he not only closed the gap but shot ahead. developing story, record setting space jump now on hold. we'll take you live to roswell, new me.